Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2964: Chapter 2965: Sudden Mutation of the Anomalous Phenomenon

Five minutes earlier.

After the Black Hat crowned the Half-length Mirror, Angel also entered the trial of the Anomaly. At the same time, mysterious phenomena began to emerge in reality.

Initially, these phenomena were not conspicuous, merely gentle glimmers of light.

Those slightly versed in alchemy, upon seeing such phenomena, could already deduce that the tool being refined was not of a high rank, likely just reaching the threshold of intermediate rank tools.

In the alchemical barren land of the Barbarian Cave, such phenomena might cause a sensation, but in other areas, it might only catch the attention of a small number of ignorant people.

Yet both the Wise Sovereign and Adanis, who have significant achievements in alchemy, by logic, shouldn’t pay attention to such gentle glimmers of light.

However, at this moment, in the Hall of Wisdom, they were gazing intently in the direction of the Qingkong Poetry Room, sensing the slight glimmers of light emanating from the dome of the Geometric Lock.

The glimmers themselves were not worthy of their attention, but the faint mysterious aura floating within them was.

”The phenomena have already appeared, indicating Angel’s alchemy is entering the final stage.” Dox also watched the faint glimmers, though his expression carried confusion: ”It’s just that this phenomenon seems a bit... thin.”

Actually, it wasn’t just Dox; even the Wise Sovereign and Adanis found it peculiar.

While their gaze was captured by the mysterious aura, the alchemy omen is not something that can be faked.

It was evidently a low-level phenomenon, so why was it emanating a mysterious aura?

”Can you tell what he’s refining?” Adanis cast her gaze from the painting towards the Wise Sovereign.

”Is Her Majesty trying to challenge me?” The Wise Sovereign chuckled softly.

Adanis snorted coldly and didn’t speak further.

The Wise Sovereign pondered for a moment and shook his head: ”I can’t tell. However, setting aside the mysterious aura, if Angel is refining only an intermediate rank tool, it would be a very ordinary one.”

”For blending alchemy, it likely contains only three to five alchemy materials, and these materials are probably of a similar nature; for enchantment alchemy, it might have only etched a few basic magic patterns, possibly without even forming a magical energy array.”

The Wise Sovereign’s response was in plain terms that everyone present could understand. Essentially saying that if it was just an ordinary intermediate rank tool, it should have only two or three basic effects and not compound ones.

Like the effect brought by a ”Sharp Magic Pattern”: sharpness, which is a basic effect. The so-called compound effect, like the advanced magic pattern ”Piercing Magic Pattern” which not only sharpens but also pierces armor.

The Wise Sovereign made this judgment because the alchemy omen produced by compound effect magic patterns can help judge the general direction of the alchemist’s refinement through the phenomena.

Whereas the alchemy omen produced by basic effect magic patterns resembles gentle glimmers of assorted colors.

Trying to discern what an alchemist is refining from these glimmers is somewhat challenging. After all, there are numerous basic magic patterns, and many of their phenomena overlap.

The Wise Sovereign continued: ”That being said, to know what exactly Angel has refined, we’ll have to wait for him to come out. After all, we can’t truly ignore the mysterious aura.”

An omens mixed with a mysterious aura was also unprecedented for the Wise Sovereign, such a phenomenon could not be judged by ordinary logic.

Afterward, no one spoke again in the hall.

The silent atmosphere lasted for several minutes. At the edge of the hall, Vay, seeing no one paying attention to him, quietly asked Kaier beside him: ”Do you think the lord has passed the anomaly?”

Kaier pondered for a moment: ”He probably did pass it; the phenomena have been stable, so the anomaly shouldn’t be too dangerous.”

Hearing Kaier’s words, Vay, being Angel’s number one fanboy, let out a long sigh of relief: ”Then I feel relieved.”

Kaier and Vay’s conversation was also overheard by the Black Earl, Adanis, and the Wise Sovereign.

Contrary to Kaier’s optimism, they were not as hopeful.

If Angel was indeed refining an ordinary intermediate rank tool, the test of the anomaly wouldn’t be too difficult, and Angel could easily pass it. But do they truly believe Angel is refining an ordinary intermediate tool? They don’t believe that.

The mysterious aura cannot be faked; it is a mysterious aura coexisting with the phenomenon. If Angel is refining something related to the mysterious, even if just a half-step mystic, the difficulty of the anomaly will greatly escalate.

And indeed, as Adanis and the Wise Sovereign suspected, Angel experienced an anomaly far more challenging than before.

However, fortunately, Angel encountered the rabbit Cha Cha. With Cha Cha’s help, he smoothly escaped the anomaly.

At the moment Angel left the anomaly, the gentle glimmers surrounding the Qingkong Poetry Room underwent a mutation.

”What’s happening? It seems the phenomenon is changing!” The one speaking was the Wise Sovereign, as the actual controller of the underground aqueduct’s magical energy array, he was the first to notice the change.

Soon, others also noticed the transformation of the phenomena.

Originally merely subtle glimmers, but at this moment, the phenomenon began transforming into profound red light.

Like blood light, it enveloped the Qingkong Poetry Room.

Not only that, once the anomaly’s glimmers turned blood-red, its scope began expanding wildly. Initially only covering the area around the Qingkong Poetry Room, but in an instant, it was about to break through the confinement of the magical energy array.

Even the mysterious aura began to grow crazily, diffusing outward at an extremely rapid pace.

In just two seconds, the range of the phenomena expanded tenfold.

Centered around the Qingkong Poetry Room, red light enveloped the surrounding area.

”Why did the phenomena suddenly change? Right, has it diffused to the surface?” Dox turned to the Wise Sovereign. If the phenomena diffuse to the surface, then there’s trouble; currently, they are only being watched by the Merchant Organization, but if it spreads externally, transcendent beings across the entire Bilun Tree Court might take notice.

Bilun Tree Court, being a Wizard Market, accommodates transcendent beings from various parties. Once spread out, all parties would pay attention to here.

Dox and his group had previously promised the Wise Sovereign not to reveal the underground aqueduct’s matters, but if Angel’s alchemical anomaly draws outside attention, it would be considered breaking a promise.

Hence, Dox immediately inquired the Wise Sovereign.

The Wise Sovereign’s expression was somewhat subtle as he slowly shook his head: ”It hasn’t diffused to the surface... but, it has spread underground.”

Dox was slightly startled, but soon snapped back: ”Underground is better than above. However, this phenomenon is truly strange; it spreads downward rather than upward?”

The Wise Sovereign was silent for a moment before whispering: ”You’ll know if you see it yourself.”

With that, the Wise Sovereign extended his finger and tapped in the air, displaying the phenomenon as an illusion for everyone to see.

The others could vaguely see the red light, but due to the magical energy array’s restrictions, they couldn’t see the specifics.

Only the Wise Sovereign could see the full picture.

Therefore, when the Wise Sovereign presented the illusion, everyone turned their eyes towards it.

Upon seeing it, everyone was dumbfounded.

They had all assumed it was just gentle glimmers turning into scarlet blood light, but they hadn’t expected that not only was there blood light, but this blood light also formed some kind of shape.

In the area where the blood light is thin, it is a faint pink, and it is also the furthest edge.

But in the place where the blood light is dense, it outlines a shape, and this shape... is a heart.

A heart that is beating.

At this moment, Dox also understood why the phenomenon did not expand upward to the surface, but rather expanded downward, precisely because its form was an irregular giant heart.

With each beat, there is a continuous dispersion of blood light.

Earlier, they felt the rhythmic pulsation of blood light, which was exactly the rhythm of the heart beating.

”Why a heart?” Doubt flashed through everyone’s minds.

Even Adanis couldn’t help but speak, asking the Wise Sovereign: ”Have there been previous records of heart-like phenomena?”

Wise Sovereign: ”At least in the past ten thousand years, I have not seen similar records.”

After speaking, the Wise Sovereign glanced towards the Black Earl.

The Black Earl seemed to understand the Wise Sovereign’s meaning and gently shook his head, ”I haven’t seen any either.”

Without similar records, they couldn’t judge which category the effects of the tool Angel refined should be classified into based on the omen.

The Wise Sovereign sighed softly: ”I’ve seen phenomena change before, but it usually resulted in the failure of alchemists not passing the trial, causing the omen to decline.”

”This transformation from a plain glow to a heart-like phenomenon, it’s my first time witnessing it.”

This change wasn’t clearly due to a failed trial, but likely represented a different mode of phenomenon presentation.

This mode was unfamiliar even to the Wise Sovereign.

In alchemy, the Wise Sovereign had authority, and if even he hadn’t encountered this mode, the first thought that came to everyone’s mind was... mystery.

”The mysterious aura, along with this beating heart. Could the lord have created a mysterious object?” Vay exclaimed.

Everyone had similar thoughts at this moment, but the Wise Sovereign shook his head.

”Though I have not seen a scene where a mysterious object was created, such a degree of mysterious aura likely hasn’t reached the standard of a mysterious object.” The Wise Sovereign said softly, ”However, the mysterious aura cannot be faked. Since the mysterious aura accompanies the omen, perhaps Angel is refining some kind of alchemy tool with mysterious power.”

To put it plainly, a half-step mysterious object.

The Black Earl: ”Speculation is futile now; we’ll know once Angel emerges.”

Everyone exchanged glances, nodding, no longer discussing it. But their inner surprise remained difficult to quell for the moment.

The Wise Sovereign and Adanis, especially, had complex emotions. In the Wise Sovereign’s view, he had already given Angel high regards, yet through this experience, he realized he had still underestimated Angel’s abilities.

Adanis also felt she had underestimated Angel’s abilities, but she was more focused on thinking... Angel seems capable of refining mysterious objects, and perhaps following him is indeed the best choice for Olao.

Others also had some thoughts but weren’t as complicated, more so thinking small personal schemes. For example, the Black Earl thought about how to further win Angel over through this experience; whereas Dox celebrated his decision to follow Angel while thinking about how to get Angel to refine a tool for him, like... a sword.

As for Angel, who was the center of everyone’s thoughts, he had a different scene.

...

Angel, being the person involved, felt a sense of helplessness upon discovering the phenomenon piercing the dome.

His initial thought was the same as Dox, wishing the phenomenon would not expand up to the surface.

In these complex emotions, Angel went on to sense the phenomenon.

Then, he saw that beating heart too.

At this point, his thoughts were instantly drawn back. Issues of whether it would expand or not, he no longer cared, completely consumed by shock.

Obviously, this heart was on the Black Tea Earl’s desktop, so why did it suddenly become a phenomenon?

After pondering for a while, Angel arrived at the only plausible but unreliable explanation: because the half-length mirror reflected the heart before disappearing.

Precisely because it consistently reflected the heart, the phenomenon of the half-length mirror transformed into a heart.

This explanation has cause and effect, but lacks process and logic. Yet, it was the only explanation Angel could think of.

Aside from this, he really couldn’t fathom how refining a mirror resulted in a heart phenomenon.

After arriving at this seemingly ambiguous conclusion, Angel chose to stop dwelling over it, as he couldn’t think of any other answers. The more he dwelled, the more entrapped he felt.

Phenomena are just fireworks ready to disappear anytime; the most important thing remains the final effects of the half-length mirror.

After setting aside his confusion, Angel summoned a Hand of Magic to bring the half-length mirror before him.

Next, Angel directed his thoughts into the half-length mirror.

A moment later, Angel opened his eyes quizzically.

He perceived the effects of the half-length mirror but only made clear one effect—indestructibility.

This was the only effect Angel engraved when refining the half-length mirror.

He hoped this mirror wouldn’t easily shatter and could withstand unexpected external factors.

After all, he needed this mirror to bear the responsibility of carrying the path to Rabbit Mountain. If it broke easily, that wouldn’t be good.

Therefore, when Angel clarified the mirror had an indestructibility effect, he wasn’t surprised.

What concerned him was something else.

On this mirror lingered a faint mysterious aura, without a doubt, it already counted as a half-step mysterious object.

But what is the effect of half-step mystery?

The effect of the black hat coronation couldn’t just be indestructibility, could it?

Angel thought for a moment and drilled his perception into the mirror again, but like before, he still only clarified one effect. As for the black hat coronation effect, he still didn’t perceive it.

It should be noted that he is the refiner of the mirror, and he hasn’t equipped the mirror with any recognition magic patterns; he has absolute control over the mirror.

And yet, he couldn’t perceive its specific effect... why is that?